


Peppers and Punches

by NaiyaDyani



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Canonical Child Abuse, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I mean it's Zuko, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Ozai's A+ Parenting, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Siblings, Sokka & Zuko (Avatar) Friendship, Sokka and Lu Ten are Similar and Zuko Notices, The Zuko/Lu Ten Cousin Time We Were Deprived Of, Toph Beifong and Zuko are Siblings, You can't change my mind on this, Zuko Joins The Gaang Early (Avatar), Zuko and Toph are Ultimate Siblings, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:28:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29690223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaiyaDyani/pseuds/NaiyaDyani
Summary: When Zuko was young, his older cousin was his best friend. Now, years later, he runs into someone similar--a smiling face, a prankster, a kind soul.The only problem? He's on the Avatar's team. That, and he cracks jokes worse than Uncle's.A story in which Zuko gets sick around "Zuko Alone" time and ends up in the Gaang's care, against his will. Katara and Aang are wary. Sokka loves having a captive audience for his puns. And Toph. . . well, she's sensing something more to this angry firebender. Cue Zuko-does-not-like-the-depths-of-his-soul-being-pried-out-thank-you and eventual Ultimate Siblings.
Relationships: Lu Ten & Zuko, Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Zuko
Comments: 46
Kudos: 202





	1. Uncle Does Not Enjoy Extra Tea Flavorings, Thank You

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first-ever fanfic. *squeaks* I've been writing novels for years, but I had an idea and a little time in the evening so this kinda just happened. XD
> 
> If you happen to see any typos or whatever, please let me know. I glance over for that stuff, but sometimes I miss it. Other than that, I'm not really looking for a lot of critique since this is my "chill" writing. If you have any ideas for where things can go, though, I'm happy to hear them! I'm planning this out a lot less than I do my novels lol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This first chapter involves Lu Ten directly. I hope you enjoy it! Let me know your thoughts because comments feed my happy dances ^_^
> 
> TW: emotional/verbal abuse, unexpected pepper in tea, idk I've never done these before lol

“Hey Zuko, you okay?”

Zuko chokes back his sobs and buries his face further into his pillow. The mattress sinks beside him as a warm hand wraps over his shoulder.

His cousin’s voice speaks again. “Did your father say something to you again?”

Zuko only manages a slight nod, not lifting his head. The words won’t stop jabbing at his mind, no matter how hard he tries to just accept their truth and listen to Father’s push for him to get better. _Pathetic. Your sister mastered that kata months ago. What kind of royal son can’t learn the most basic firebending at even an average pace? You’re a disgrace._

Gentle arms draw him into a hug. Zuko tries to force the shameful tears back, but as the safety of the pillow pulls away, his lungs refuse to hold back. He presses his face into Lu Ten’s chest, letting the sobs twisting his gut loose.

Lu Ten murmurs gently, fingers running through Zuko’s hair. “It’s okay, now. You’ll be alright, buddy.”

“I embarrassed him—again,” Zuko gasps between sobs. “I’ve been getting better—at that kata. But when he came to watch I messed it all up.”

“Hey, do you know how long it took me to learn the basics?”

Zuko sniffs and looks up at his cousin, blurry through tears. “I thought you were good at firebending.”

Lu Ten squeezes his shoulder. “Yes, but sometimes even good benders have a slow start. It took me five years to master all the basic katas.”

Zuko’s eyes grow wide. Before he can stop himself, he blurts, “Five years? That’s forever!”

He realizes the rudeness of the words after they leave his mouth, but Lu Ten only laughs—a rumbling, comforting sound that speaks of warmth and home as much as a handful of fire flakes. “That’s right. I thought I would never get them down. But my dad always knew I could, and eventually I did. It’s okay if it takes you longer than Azula, you know.”

Zuko’s shoulders hunch. “Father doesn’t think so.”

“I know,” Lu Ten says softly. “But I do.”

They sit in close silence for several minutes before Lu Ten pats his back. “You know what’ll cheer you up?”

Zuko can’t stop the grin breaking over his face. “What?”

“Pranking my dad. What do you say, find an old chipped plate and use the shards to make him think the lizard-cat broke one of his favorite teacups?”

Zuko’s face twists. “No. He’d either get really sad or get into some proverb about how possessions don’t matter.”

“Hm, fair.” Lu Ten strokes his chin. “Oh, what about putting hot pepper in his tea? You know his tongue’s a bit weak to begin with.”

Zuko bounces off the bed. “I’ll sneak into the kitchen.”

After ten minutes of picking just the right weapon and searching out Uncle Iroh, he and Lu Ten discover him sitting by the turtleduck pond with his constant cup of tea at his side. Zuko stifles a giggle as they approach.

“Mind if we feed the turtleducks with you, Dad?” Lu Ten says easily, as though nothing is amiss.

“Of course!” Zuko’s uncle says, a jovial smile breaking over his face. “A little company is just what I needed.”

Zuko plops down to Uncle’s right, beside the teacup. As Lu Ten distracts his father by splitting the breadcrumbs with him, Zuko slips the handkerchief full of ground pepper from his pocket. Dumping it into the tea, he quickly stirs it with his finger and feigns innocence as Uncle turns back toward the pond.

“I am afraid I have already filled most of their stomachs,” Uncle says, tossing a few crumbs onto the water’s rippling surface. “Perhaps you’ll be able to get stubborn Kahiru’s attention, hm?” Without glancing at the teacup, he reaches for it and lifts it to his lips.

The next instant, the offending liquid splashes over Uncle’s tunic and beard as he coughs violently. At the sudden noise and motion, the turtleducks protest and paddle toward the other side of the pond. Zuko and Lu Ten double over, tears streaming down their faces as their laughter comes out in gasps.

Iroh spits out the last of the tea with a final cough and stares at the cup. “What in Agni’s fire?” Then he glances at the laughing boys on either side of him. With a longsuffering sigh, he gazes up at the stray wispy clouds. “Betrayed by the members of my own family. What is the Fire Nation coming to?”

Lu Ten wipes his eyes. “You should have seen your face,” he gasps. “It was priceless.”

“I hope you treasured it,” Uncle says, setting his cup far away from him, “for you will not see it again for quite some time. I will be wary of every cup for months!”

As Zuko regains his breath, a flush of peace rushes over him. Lessons—they’re going to be hard. Pleasing Father—it isn’t going to be easy. But this—his time with Lu Ten and Uncle—this is simple. This is effortless.

This is something that will always be his solace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hate to say it, but that's the last we'll see directly of Lu Ten. I get to pull in some fun Sokka next, though. Hope you liked it!


	2. Sokka Just Wants Some Peace In His Life

Benders are the _worst._

Sokka sneezes at the dust _still_ in his nose, squeezing the water from his soaked shirt as he storms through the underbrush. He’s just a guy with a boomerang. He didn’t _ask_ to be woken from a peaceful sleep by an onslaught of pebbles and dust. He _certainly_ didn’t ask to be doused with freezing water the second he’d shaken the dirt off. If they were going to train Aang to fight multiple benders at once, they could at least take it somewhere _away_ from the sleeping innocents. But _nooo. . ._

He yanks a fistful of berries from a nearby bush (not poisonous—he’s tested them before) and shoves them into his pocket. If it weren’t for him, these idiots would have starved long ago. That, or been captured by the Fire Nation. Either way, a little appreciation, a little “Wow, Sokka, you’re pretty great, thanks for keeping us alive” would be nice every now and—

A dark form ahead stops him in mid-thought. There’s someone hiding in those bushes over there. He reaches for his boomerang. If they think he’s going to let them get to his weird sister and friends, they have another thing coming.

“Who are you?” he demands, brandishing the boomerang in what he hopes is an intimidating way. “What do you want?”

The lump in the bushes doesn’t move.

“I know you’re there,” Sokka says, raising his voice.

Nothing.

Sokka narrows his eyes. They could be innocent and asleep. Or they could be baiting him, hoping he’ll mistake them for someone innocent and come closer so they can attack. He’s not taking chances.

“You’re going to state your name and business in five seconds,” he says, slowly approaching, “or I let this thing fly. And I never miss.” These days, at least.

The figure’s only response is a soft moan. Sokka’s forehead twists, his throwing arm lowering inadvertently. Now that he’s closer, he can see the person—a guy—is curled on the ground and wearing Earth Kingdom clothes. If Sokka had to guess, he’s a refugee passed out from illness or injury.

“Hey,” he says cautiously, “are you alright? Do you, uh. . . need some help?”

No response. Sokka kneels beside him. _Okay. Katara’s a healer. She’ll know what to do if I can just get this guy back to her._

Slipping his hands under the stranger’s arms, he drags him out of the bushes with a grunt. _Man, what does this guy eat for breakfast? Rocks?_

Once he’s finally out of those ridiculously scratchy bushes, Sokka sucks in several deep breaths and glances at the stranger’s face.

He freezes. He’d recognize that scar anywhere.

. . . Yup. Benders are the _worst._

* * *

“Uh. . . so, slight problem?”

Katara groans, pulling a stream of water back into a globe suspended over her hand as her brother steps into the clearing. That is _never_ a good phrase to hear out of Sokka. “What did you do now?”

Sokka squares his shoulders, as if he has a right to be offended. “Why do you have to assume it’s something _I_ did?”

“Gee, I wonder!” Katara streams the water back into her pouch and crosses her arms as Toph and Aang bring the sparring to a halt.

“What did Snoozles do now?” Toph asks.

“NOTHING!” Sokka insists, waving his arms. “What is with you guys? It’s not like I’M the one constantly getting into trouble!”

“Two fishhooks in one finger?” Katara says, raising an eyebrow.

“That was years ago!”

“Getting stuck in the ground with a mama saber-tooth moose lion after you?” Toph supplies helpfully.

“That wasn’t my fault!”

“Okay, okay,” Aang says, holding up his hands as he walks over. “No one’s saying you did anything, Sokka—”

“Actually, everyone is,” Toph interjects.

“—so why don’t you just tell us what’s going on?” Aang finishes, ignoring her.

“Well. . .” Sokka draws out the word a little too long to give Katara any sense of comfort. “You see, I might have found Prince Zuko unconscious in the bushes?”

“You WHAT?”

* * *

“I gotta say, Sokka,” Toph says, crossing her arms with a smirk as they circle around the insensible boy, “you have a talent for getting into messes.”

“You’ve never even met Zuko!” Sokka splutters.

Toph shrugs nonchalantly. “Yeah, but based on everyone’s reactions, this is a pretty big deal.”

“He’s been hunting Aang down from the start,” Katara says with more venom than Toph is used to hearing from her.

“We can’t just leave him here,” Aang says worriedly. “He looks really sick.”

“He is,” Toph says, a bit more seriously. “His heartbeat’s really fast, and his breathing’s too shallow.”

“You can tell that?” Sokka says with a satisfying amount of admiration in his surprised tone.

Toph wiggles her toes. “There’s not a lot I _can’t_ sense.”

“There’s just a little problem,” Katara says dryly. “As soon as he’s awake enough to realize where he is and who we are, he’s going to be shooting fire everywhere. We’re pretty much giving him a prime opportunity to attack Aang.”

“I think we can take him,” Toph says casually. “He’s sick, and that makes the odds even less than three-to-one.”

“Um, there’s actually four of us, Toph,” Sokka says.

“Oh, I wasn’t counting you. You know, no bending and all.”

“ _I CAN STILL FIGHT!”_

“Okay, three-plus-Sokka-to-one.” Toph ignores his incomprehensible noise of indignation. “Either way, we’ll be fine. If you’re really worried, I can secure him to the ground.”

Katara sighs. “I don’t like this, but we can’t very well leave him here. He might die out in the open.”

“Then it’s settled. He’s coming with us.” Toph cracks her knuckles and shifts the earth beneath the sick guy, pushing him toward the campsite. “About time something crazy happened, too. Things were starting to get boring around here.”

Sokka groans. “You know, boring is beginning to have a nice ring to it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sokka is way too much fun to write.  
> Also, I made the mistake of asking my sister for puns to put in Sokka's dialogue, so that's coming. Lucky you. . .?
> 
> Thanks so much for all the kudos and comments!!! They've made me ridiculously happy lol. I love chatting with readers so pls don't be shy! XP
> 
> I'm hoping to update fairly frequently, but I don't know what my schedule's going to allow. Unless things go quite unexpectedly, though, you shouldn't have to worry about me taking a month per chapter. I like this story too much for that. I just may not be able to update multiple times per week like I'm currently doing. I'll see how things go.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Toph Is Beginning to Assemble Plans for a Sparky Protection Society

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW/CW: very brief mention of Katara seeing her mother's body, panic attack from Zuko

Toph plops beside Zuko’s head as Katara runs her healing water over his torso. “So what’s Sparky like when he’s not, you know, conked out?”

“Nuh-uh!” Sokka storms up behind her. “No friendly nicknames! He is _not_ part of the group, so no acting like it!”

“Relax, Sokka,” Toph says, kicking her feet up on a nearby rock. “I give everyone I find interesting a nickname.”

Katara shifts the water to Zuko’s chest. “You want the basics? He’s an angry jerk that won’t stop yelling about his honor.”

Aang stifles a snicker nearby, prompting a trill from the lemur perched on his shoulder. Sokka tilts his head. “Yeah, but last we saw him he had the ugliest ponytail the world has seen since Katara did her own hair as a toddler.” He ignores his sister’s spluttering. “Right now, it actually looks somewhat decent.”

“You’re right, it looks way better than it used to,” Toph says, leaning her chin on her hand.

Sokka crosses his arms. “You’ve never even met him.”

“That’s not the biggest problem with what I said, Snoozles,” Toph says, a smirk twitching at her lips. This guy was so easy to mess with.

“Hair aside,” Katara said, “he feels pretty sick. I should check to make sure everything’s okay with his head, function-wise.”

“It never has been,” Sokka says. “Don’t freak out too much if things seem weird in there.”

Toph senses Katara’s hands move an instant before the prince’s heart rate spikes. The boy lurches, but the rock securing his wrists and ankles to the ground stop him from moving more than an inch.

Zuko jerks blearily at his bindings, panting wildly. “Please—stop it, I’m sorry,” he gasps, voice raspy.

Everyone freezes. Toph’s eyes widen. Before, the boy’s heart was simply pounding with illness. Now, there’s no mistaking it. He’s scared.

“Hey. . . Zuko, it’s alright,” Katara says hesitantly. “No one’s going to hurt you.”

Zuko’s heartbeat eases a tick. “Mom?” he whispers.

To Toph’s surprise, Katara’s voice hardens. “No, it’s not Mom. Now calm down, I need to check on your fever.”

As she draws the water over his head, Zuko braces himself and whimpers. Toph glares in Katara’s direction.

“Hey, go easy on him,” she says. “He’s kind of panicking right now.”

“He’s made _us_ panic enough times before.”

Aang shifts uncomfortably. “I don’t know, Katara, he seems pretty upset.”

“He’ll be _fine,_ Aang,” Katara says, sighing sharply. “He’s just feverish, and for his own good, I have to check him over.”

Toph grits her teeth as Zuko tenses and gasps. “Katara, I’m not kidding! He’s really scared.”

“I know what you’re thinking, Katara,” Sokka says seriously, “but you can’t let that blind you.”

Toph doesn’t bother cracking a joke. Katara huffs and pulls the water away, voice unusually shaky. “I still have to check him over. I need to make sure nothing’s wrong.”

“I know.” Sokka kneels beside her. “But you can do it better than this.”

Katara takes a deep breath. A moment later, she touches Zuko’s arm. “Hey, Zuko? I need to check you over, and that means I need to put some water over your head now. Just take a deep breath, and I’ll be done in just a few seconds, okay?”

Zuko swallows and murmurs softly. “Okay.”

Toph focuses on Zuko’s heartbeat and breathing as Katara runs her water over him. Though his pulse is racing, his breathing is a forced deep and even rhythm. Like he’s practiced this before. Toph doesn’t like that thought.

After a minute, he lets out a sigh of relief. Katara streams her water back into her pouch. “It looks like right now, what he needs is rest, food, and water. Beyond that, there’s not much we can do. He should be fine given enough time, though.”

“Alright,” Sokka says, rising. “I’m going to go see what I can find for supper. Katara, will you come with me?”

As the siblings walk off, Toph hunches over, Zuko’s slowing heartbeats running through her system. Whatever that was, it didn’t seem like an angry-yelling-jerk thing. He just seemed like a scared kid, a boy stuck in fear of _something_ and just wanting his mother’s comfort.

Toph blinks back water ( _not_ tears) as she remembers a time when she was six, back before she had earthbending to give her sight. There was a small earthquake, and she was terrified to the point of tears at the ground shaking beneath her. She searched desperately for her mother, and as soon as she reached her arms, she wouldn’t let go.

Was that how Zuko felt? Was he confused and frightened, and reaching out for something familiar and safe?

Toph hugs her knees. Maybe she’ll change her mind once he wakes, but right now, she’s not convinced the others have the whole picture. Maybe there’s more to this jerk-without-a-ponytail than meets the eye.

* * *

“I’m sorry,” Katara says quietly, avoiding her brother’s gaze as she plucks a handful of berries. “I should have been gentler, and I let my feelings get away with me. It just. . . doesn’t feel fair, you know?”

Sokka’s voice nearby is low and serious. “I know.”

Katara squeezes her eyes shut as tears gather. “It feels so unfair that he still has his mom to reach out to when I had to lose mine. . . like that.” She tries to force the image of her mother’s dead body from her mind, but it won’t leave. Opening her eyes, she focuses on the tear-blurred berries in front of her instead. “Still. I shouldn’t have kept plowing ahead when I could tell he was scared.” Absently, she rubs one of the berries in her hand. “What do you think he was so afraid of? It’s not like the water was painful. At most, it was just a bit cold.”

“I thought it was pretty obvious.”

Katara turns and raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Sokka waves a hand over the left side of his face. “His scar? I mean, however he got it, I can’t imagine it was exactly relaxing. Remember how Jinuk back home got that polar dog bite on his arm, and would get nervous about anyone touching him there? Zuko might be like that with his scar.”

“Oh.” Katara’s cheeks flush. “Right.”

Sokka flings an arm over her shoulders. “Hey, don’t stress about it. Good news is, he’s super feverish right now. He probably won’t remember a thing when he wakes up!”

Katara rolls her eyes and shoves his arm off, but lets out a sigh of relief. “Well, we should finish up here and get dinner going. And we need to include a bunch of wild lentils or nuts. Aang’s been doing a lot of intense training, and he needs the protein.”

“I still say he’d be a lot better off just eating meat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update took so long, I kinda got stuck for a while trying to figure out what to do between point A and point B. XD 
> 
> I have to say, as much as Katara annoyed me in Book 3 with her initial behavior toward Zuko (a.k.a. my Son [TM]), I can understand where she was coming from, even if she handled it wrong. I'm attempting to be fair to her here. 
> 
> Especially as she does not yet know about Zuko's mom. That'll be a fun conversation to write. 
> 
> Also! If you like my writing, I do original work and am currently editing the final draft of my first complete light fantasy novel, which is about a girl closing herself off after the loss of her father, a boy battling racism and the ghosts of his past, and the storms and rays of hope that draw them together. I might also be writing the first draft of a novel about a boy who puts the sass in assassin. If you wanted to check those out, I would be ridiculously pleased to the point of happy wiggles and squeaks! You can find me here (https://marybethdaviswriting.wordpress.com/) with descriptions of a few of my stories as well as some of my art, among other things. I would be so muchly grateful if you joined my mailing list on the Apple Cabin page. ^w^ (I don't send out emails too often, so don't worry, I won't be filling your inbox up lol) I'd love to see ya! 
> 
> *runs to the nearest mushroom to perch and shut up and just edit that book of hers already*


End file.
